UN appeals court increases sentences for 2 Serbs convicted of crimes in Balkan wars

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — United Nations appeals judges have significantly expanded the convictions of two allies of late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, holding them responsible for involvement in crimes across Bosnia and in one town in Croatia as members of a joint criminal plan to drive out non-Serbs from the areas during the Balkan wars. The appeals chamber at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunal on Wednesday overturned their acquittals of involvement in the criminal plan and raised the sentences of Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic from 12 to 15 years. The two were initially indicted more than 20 years ago and the length of the case underscores the complexity of successfully proving war crimes in international courts.